News updates for Saturday 17th April 2021.
Vaccine:
The Health Minister says people aged under 30 could be vaccinated against Covid-19 earlier to reduce transmission of the virus.
Stephen Donnelly's asked the Department of Health to examine the possibility of revising the order of age cohorts.
It means people aged 18 to 30 would get their jab before those aged 30 to 50, once people in their 60s are vaccinated.
Some senior officials fear there will be a spike in cases among younger people once society begins to reopen.
Mullingar's Kingston Mills, an immunology professor at Trinity College Dublin, thinks it makes sense once the vulnerable are protected:
Latest figures:
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 4 additional deaths related to COVID-19.
Of the deaths reported today, all occurred in April.
There has been a total of 4,835 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight, Friday 16th April, the HPSC has been notified of 420 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
There has now been a total of 243,238* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today:
211 are men / 206 are women
74% are under 45 years of age
The median age is 32 years old
As of 8am today, 183 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 50 are in ICU. 7 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
As of April 15th, 2021, 1,155,599 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:
814,470 people have received their first dose
341,129 people have received their second dose
The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community including daily data on Ireland’s COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.
*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 1 confirmed case. The figure of 243,238 confirmed cases reflects this.
5-day moving average 386
Restrictions:
A County Donegal doctor thinks covid cases could rise both sides of the border due to the easing of restrictions in the North.
Pubs and restaurants in Northern Ireland will re-open for outdoor dining on April 30th.
It comes as 420 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Republic, along with 11 deaths, 3 of which happened this month.
Irish Medical Organisation Chairperson of the GP Sub-Committee, Dr. Denis McCauley says people in the south crossing the border will have an impact:
Vaccine:
The Tanaiste's being accused of causing anxiety and stress to the latest group of people registering for vaccination against Covid 19.
Wexford Councillor Michael Sheehan has hit out at Leo Varadkar, for saying people who refuse an offer of AstraZeneca will go to 'the back of the queue'.
Councillor Sheehan says it was a poor choice of words:
Testing:
Two more walk in test centres will open in Dublin and Tipperary today.
They're located in the Liberties and in Cahir, while another pop-up facility will open in Tallaght in Dublin tomorrow.
It's after the first of four new centres opened in Coolock yesterday for asymptomatic people.
HSE National Lead for Testing and Tracing Niamh O'Beirne outlines where exactly the Dublin test centres will be:
Local figures:
420 new cases of covid 19 have been confirmed and 11 more patients have died.
147 new infections are in Dublin, 41 in Meath, 33 in Donegal, 26 in Galway, 18 in Limerick and the remaining 155 cases are spread across all other counties.
There are 27 new confirmed cases in the midlands. Laois had 11, with 10 in Westmeath and six in Offaly.
The Faithful County still has the highest incidence rate in the country at 211, while it's 161 in the O Moore County and 131 in the Lake County.
The national rate is 119.
190 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 53 are in ICU.
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